System and method of measuring and mapping three dimensional structures

ABSTRACT

A system for mapping a three-dimensional structure includes a projecting optical system adapted to project light onto an object, a correction system adapted to compensate the light for at least one aberration in the object, an imaging system adapted to collect light scattered by the object and a wavefront sensor adapted to receive the light collected by the imaging system and to sense a wavefront of the received light. For highly aberrated structures, a number of wavefront measurements are made which are valid over different portions of the structure, and the valid wavefront data is stitched together to yield a characterization of the total structure.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/829,184filed on 27 Jul. 2007, which is a divisional of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/828,550, filed on 21 Apr. 2004, which issued on 25 Nov. 2008as U.S. Pat. No. 7,455,407, which is in turn a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/369,513, filed on 21 Feb. 2003 andwhich was issued on 21 Jun. 2005 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,908,196, and is alsoa continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/419,072,filed on 21 Apr. 2003 which is in turn a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/692,483, filed on 20 Oct. 2000 and which issuedon 22 Apr. 2003 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,917, which application in turnclaims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/182,088 filed on 11 Feb. 2000, the entire contents ofeach of which applications are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

1. Field

This invention pertains to the field of measurement of surfaces ofthree-dimensional objects, and more particularly, to a system and methodof measuring and mapping three-dimensional surfaces of spherical andaspherical objects, and of characterizing optically transmissivedevices.

2. Description

There are a number of applications where the ability to provide a truemeasurement and map of a three-dimensional surface would be beneficial.There are also a number of applications where the ability to preciselyand accurately determine characteristics (particularly one or moreoptical properties) of an optically transmissive device would bebeneficial.

For example, contact lenses for correcting vision are produced usingcontact lens molds. Such contact lens molds may suffer not only fromsurface irregularities (small-scale features), but also may includelarge-area defects. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a systemand method of measuring and mapping a three-dimensional surface of acontact lens mold.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,917 (“the '917 patent”), from which this applicationclaims priority, describes an improved system and method of compiling atopographic mapping of refractive errors in the eye. A disclosed systememploys a wavefront sensor, such as a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor,and includes a combination of an adjustable telescope and arange-limiting aperture (RLA) to provide a high dynamic rangemeasurement.

However, such a system cannot be directly applied to asphericalmeasurements of a contact lens mold, for example, because in most casesthese elements are highly curved surfaces that cannot be probed with aninjected beam system. Also, for measurements of the eye, the aberrationsare known to vary according to specific classifications, such asdefocus, astigmatism, coma or other higher order effects, and thus theocular instrument could be designed a priori to deal individually withthese different, known, types of aberrations.

The use of a wavefront sensor for optical metrology of optics, surfaces,optical systems, and the characterization of light beams is a wellestablished art. Methods have been developed for: characterization oflaser beams (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,936,720; D. R. Neal et al.,“Amplitude and phase beam characterization using a two-dimensionalwavefront sensor,” S.P.I.E. 2870 (July 1996) pp.72-82); measurement ofoptics (e.g., D. R. Neal et al., “Wavefront sensors for control andprocess monitoring in optics manufacture,” S.P.I.E. 2993, pp. 211-220(1997); J. Pfund et al., “Nonnull testing of rotationally symmetricaspheres: a systematic error assessment,” Appl. Optics 40(4) pp. 439-446(1 Feb. 2001); and M. Abitol, “Apparatus for mapping optical elements,”U.S. Pat. No. 5,825,476); measurement of the eye and other ophthalmicsystems (U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,917 (the '917 patent”)); and for many otherapplications. If the light incident on a wavefront sensor is the resultof reflection or scattering light from a surface, then the metrology orother characteristics of the surface can be determined.

In this art several different technologies have been developed forsensing the arriving wavefront of the incident light. Among thesetechnologies are interferometry, Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensing,Moire' deflectometry, Shearing interferometry, phase-diversity,curvature and other sensors. Each of these different types of sensorshas a specific dynamic range and accuracy, along with other requirementsfor proper functioning of the appropriate systems. The design andselection of the appropriate phase sensitive instrument depends upon thedesired characteristics of the measurement system including the desireddynamic range and accuracy.

However, in many cases the requirements for dynamic range and/oraccuracy exceed the ability of a particular measurement technology. Fora case where a large dynamic range is needed, the accuracy of themeasurement may be reduced. If the instrument is designed to meet aspecific accuracy, then it will often have reduced dynamic range. Thusone or both elements of the metrology system (dynamic range or accuracy)must be compromised in order to achieve the desired result. For example,Pfund describes a non-null test of an asphere using a Shack-Hartmannwavefront sensor approach. However, he carefully limits the applicationto rotationally symmetric systems so that the instrument can be operatedwithin the dynamic range of the system. Thus his device is of limitedapplicability to general aspherical shapes. Abitol attempts to overcomethis difficulty by marking one lenslet differently from the others. Thisis done by eliminating the central lenslet from the pattern of lenslets.Greater dynamic range can be achieved by extrapolating the position ofthis spot outwards from this marked location. However, this does notsolve the problem of spot overlap or gross aberration.

There have also been a number of other methods for extending the dynamicrange of the wavefront sensor purely through analysis. For example M. C.Roggeman et al., “Algorithm to increase the largest aberration that canbe reconstructed from Hartmann sensor measurements,” Appl. Optics37(20), pp. 4321-4329 (10 Jul. 1998) proposed a method for using imagemetrics from a separate camera to improve the dynamic range, and Pfundet al., “Dynamic range expansion of a Shack-Hartmann sensor by using amodified unwrapping algorithm,” Opt. Letters 23, pp. 995-997 (1998)proposed a method for analyzing the Shack-Hartmann image by use of amodified unwrapping algorithm. While these concepts are useful (in fact,one such method that has particular advantages is disclosed in detailbelow), they do not solve the problem of spot crossover when largechanges in the wavefront gradient need to be measured.

The '917 patent discloses a method for the measurement of the eye thatincludes, among other elements, an adjustable position optical systemthat provides for an extension of the dynamic range of a wavefrontsensor for measurement of ocular systems. This method provided a meansfor adjusting a reference sphere through the movement of one opticalelement relative to another optical element, and thus providing a meansfor limiting the dynamic range of the wavefront that is incident uponthe sensor. A means for finding the appropriate location of this spherewas provided through feedback from the sensor.

This system has the advantage of incorporating a very large dynamicrange, while still providing excellent accuracy. In this instrument, thedefocus term was subtracted optically so that the residual aberrationswere within the dynamic range of the wavefront sensor. However, it wasapplicable primarily to ocular systems that i) permitted injection of asmall diameter beam, and ii) had well separated aberrations where focusdominated the strength of other aberrations. For an arbitrary asphericaloptic, these features are not necessarily present.

Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a system and method ofmeasuring and mapping three-dimensional surfaces of spherical andaspherical objects. It would also be advantageous to provide such asystem and method that operates with an improved dynamic range. Otherand further objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

The present invention is directed to a system and method of measuringand mapping three-dimensional structures.

In one aspect of the invention, a variable position optical system and adynamic-range-limiting aperture are used, similar to that disclosed inthe '917 patent, to ensure that a wavefront sensor operates alwayswithin its dynamic range. It is recognized that for an arbitrary opticaldevice with strongly varying surface curvatures, it will not be possibleto measure the entire element in a single operation (as it is for theocular system using the system disclosed in the '917 patent). However,the inventors have recognized that, with different positions of thevariable position optical system, it is possible to examine the entiresurface of the element under test. Thus by systematically varying theposition of the variable position optical system, it is possible toobtain measurements of the entire surface of the element under test, andthen construct the measurement of a highly curved or aberrated elementfrom these multiple individual measurements.

In another aspect of the invention, a system for controlling, directing,and modulating light is used to project light onto an element undertest, collect the light reflected from this element, direct lightthrough a dynamic-range-limiting aperture, and project this light onto awavefront sensor. This system may include optical reformatting optics toappropriately reform the light from collimated to converging ordiverging as needed for the element under test.

In another aspect of this invention, a series of wavefront measurementsare “stitched” together using mathematical methods. Each of thesemeasurements would be acquired using a different optical system aspect(such as focus, tilt or other systematically introduced referenceaberration), in conjunction with a means for limiting the dynamic rangeof the wavefront incident on a wavefront sensor (beneficially, through adynamic-range-limiting aperture), so that a series of accurate,independent measurements are acquired from the element under test. Usingthe a priori reference information, each individual measurementwavefront is corrected appropriately. These measurements may then becombined together to produce an overall measurement of the entiresurface of the element under test using the mathematical methodsdisclosed herein.

Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention, a system for mapping asurface of a three-dimensional object, comprises: a projecting opticalsystem adapted to project light onto an object; a pre-correction systemadapted to compensate a light beam to be projected onto the object foraberrations in the object, the pre-correction system being positioned inbetween the projecting optical system and the object; an imaging systemadapted to collect light scattered by the object; and a wavefront sensoradapted to receive the light collected by the imaging system.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of mapping a surface of anobject, comprises: projecting a light beam onto an object; compensatingthe light beam to be projected onto the object for aberrations in theobject; collecting light scattered by the object; and sensing awavefront of the collected light scattered by the object.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a system for measuring anoptical characteristic of an optically transmissive object, comprises: aprojecting optical system which projects light through an opticallytransmissive object; a correction system adapted to at least partiallycompensate a light beam that has been projected through the object forat least one optical property of the object; an imaging system adaptedto collect the light that has been projected through the object; and awavefront sensor adapted to receive the light collected by the imagingsystem.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of measuring an opticalquality of an optically transmissive object, comprises: projecting alight beam through an optically transmissive object; at least partiallycompensating the light beam that has been projected through the objectfor at least one optical property of the object; collecting the lightbeam that has been projected through the object; and sensing a wavefrontof the collected light.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of mapping a surface of anobject, comprises: (a) projecting a light beam onto a surface of anobject; (b) collecting light scattered by a first portion of the surfaceof the object and rejecting light scattered by a second portion of thesurface of the object; (c) sensing a wavefront of the collected lightreturned by the portion of the surface of the object; (d) repeatingsteps (a) through (c) for a plurality of different portions of thesurface of the object that together span a target area of the surface ofthe object; and (e) stitching together the sensed wavefronts to producea complete measurement of the target area of the surface of the object.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of measuring an opticallytransmissive object, comprises: (a) projecting a light beam through aportion of an object; (b) collecting light passed through the portion ofthe object; (c) sensing a wavefront of the collected light passedthrough the portion of the object; (d) repeating steps (a) through (c)for a plurality of different portions of the object that together span atarget area of the object; and (e) stitching together the sensedwavefronts to produce a complete measurement of the target area of theobject.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of mapping a surface of anobject, comprises: (a) locating a light source a first distance from anobject; (b) projecting a light beam from the light source onto a surfaceof the object; (c) collecting light scattered by the surface of theobject; (d) sensing a wavefront comprising a difference between awavefront of the collected light and a reference wavefront; (e) changingthe distance between the light source and the object; (f) repeatingsteps (b) through (e) to produce N sensed wavefronts; and (g) stitchingtogether the N sensed wavefronts to produce a complete measurement ofthe target area of the surface of the object.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of measuring an opticallytransmissive object, comprises: (a) locating a light source a firstdistance from an optically transmissive object; (b) projecting a lightbeam from the light source through the object; (c) collecting lightprojected through the object; (d) sensing a wavefront comprising adifference between a wavefront of the collected light and a referencewavefront; (e) changing the distance between the light source and theobject; (f) repeating steps (b) through (e) N times to produce N sensedwavefronts; and (g) stitching together the N sensed wavefronts toproduce a complete measurement of the target area of the surface of theobject.

In another aspect of the invention, a point light source for producing aspherical wave, comprises: a light source; a diffuser adapted to receivelight from the light source; and a structure having an aperture adaptedto receive and pass therethrough the light from the diffuser.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of determining when aportion of a light wavefront received by a wavefront sensor exceeds thedynamic range of the wavefront sensor, comprises: assigning a group of Npixels of a wavefront sensor to a focal spot; providing a first lightwavefront to the wavefront sensor under conditions known to be within adynamic range of the wavefront sensor; calculating a reference value,Φ_(k) ^(REF), for a second moment of the focal spot produced by thefirst light wavefront within the group of N pixels; providing a secondlight wavefront to the wavefront sensor; calculating a value of theΦ_(k), for a second moment of the focal spot produced by the secondlight wavefront within the group of N pixels; and determining that thesecond light wavefront is within the dynamic range of the wavefrontsensor within the group of N pixels when: |σ_(k)−σ_(k) ^(REF)|<t_(σ),where t_(Φ) is a set threshold value.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of mapping a surface of anobject, comprises: projecting a light beam onto an object; compensatingthe light beam to be projected onto the object for aberrations in theobject; passing light scattered by the object through adynamic-range-limiting aperture; collecting light passed through thedynamic-range-limiting aperture; and sensing a wavefront of thecollected light.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of determining a positionof a focal spot on a wavefront sensor, comprises: assigning a firstgroup of N pixels of a wavefront sensor to a focal spot; providing alight wavefront to the wavefront sensor; measuring an irradiancedistribution of the light wavefront across the N pixels of the firstgroup; calculating a preliminary centroid position of the focal spot asa first moment of the irradiance distribution of the light wavefrontacross the N pixels of the first group; assigning a second group of Npixels of the wavefront sensor to the focal spot, where the second groupof N pixels is approximately centered at the preliminary centroidposition; and calculating a location of the focal spot as a first momentof the power of irradiance distribution of the light wavefront acrossthe N pixels of the second group.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of determining a wavefrontof light received by a wavefront sensor, comprises: (a) providing alight wavefront to a wavefront sensor; (b) assigning pixels of thewavefront sensor to a first plurality of areas-of-interest (AOIs); (c)determining a first region of the wavefront sensor where the receivedlight wavefront is within a dynamic range of the wavefront sensor forall AOIs within the first region; (d) calculating locations for centersof light spots of received light for all AOIs within the first region;(e) calculated a fitted wavefront for the received light wavefront overthe first region; (f) computing a slope of the fitted wavefront at eachAOI within the first region; (g) projecting locations for centers oflight spots of received light for a second region of the wavefrontsensor larger than the first region, using the slopes of the fittedwavefront within the first region; (h) reassigning the pixels of thewavefront sensor to a second plurality of areas-of-interest (AOIs) eachcentered on one of the calculated or projected centers of light spots;(i) determining a new first region of the wavefront sensor where thereceived light wavefront is within a dynamic range of the wavefrontsensor for all AOIs; and (j) repeating steps (d) through (i) until oneof: (i) the new first region is no larger than a previous first region;and (ii) the new first region spans substantially the entire wavefrontsensor.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of measuring a focal length(F) of a lens, comprises: (a) locating a light source on a first side ofa lens, one of the light source and the lens being located at a positionZi; (b) locating a wavefront sensor a fixed distance (L) from the lenson a second side thereof; (c) projecting a light beam from the lightsource through the lens; (d) collecting light passed through lens; (e)sensing a wavefront of the collected light at the wavefront sensor; (f)measuring a corresponding vergence Pi of the light; (g) incrementing iby 1, and moving the position of one of the light source and the lens toa new position Zi; (h) repeating steps (c) through (g) to obtain Nvalues of Zi and Pi; and

(i) applying the N values of Zi and Pi to a least squares fit algorithmto solve for the focal length (F).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a functional block diagram of a system for measuring andmapping three-dimensional surfaces of spherical and aspherical objects.

FIG. 1B is a diagram of an exemplary wavefront sensor that may be usedin the system of FIG. 1A;

FIGS. 2A-B show exemplary positional relationships between certainelements of the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary condition where a device under test has aportion of its surface that produces reflections that would typically beout of range for a wavefront sensor;

FIGS. 4A-E illustrate measurements of portions of a surface of a deviceunder test and then stitching together the partial measurements toproduce a complete measurement of the surface;

FIGS. 5A-D illustrate the effect of out-of-range conditions on thepixels values in a group of pixels assigned to a focal spot (Area ofInterest).

FIG. 6 is a block diagram description of an algorithm to expand thedynamic range by use of iterative wavefront fitting method for trackingAreas of Interest.

FIG. 7 shows the measured refractive power (wavefront curvature) as afunction of stage 1 position.

FIG. 8 shows an arrangement for measuring transmissive optical elementsusing the methods of this invention.

FIG. 9 shows an arrangement for measuring a transmissive optical elementthat has significant optical power.

FIG. 10A shows an arrangement of elements to produce a point source thatcan be used for transmissive or reflective optical measurements.

FIG. 10B shows an arrangement of elements to produce a point source oflight with high power for optical metrology measurements

FIG. 11 shows the parameters needed for measuring the focal parametersof a lens.

FIG. 12 shows example data from the measurement of lens focalproperties.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a functional block diagram of one embodiment of a system100 for measuring and mapping three-dimensional surfaces of sphericaland aspherical objects.

The system 100 includes: a projection system 110 comprising a lightsource 112, a collimating lens 114, and a polarizing beam splitter 116;an optical imaging system 120 comprising lens pair 122 and 124(operating together as a telescope 125), dynamic-range-limiting aperture(RLA) 115, λ/4 waveplate 126, and reformatting lens 129; a wavefrontsensor 130; and a data analysis system 150 including a processor 152.Beneficially, the system also includes one or more movable stages—inparticular the system 100 includes three movable stages 105, 107, and109—on each of which one or more components may be mounted. The purposesand function of the movable stages will be explained in further detailbelow.

Beneficially, in one embodiment, the wavefront sensor 130 is aShack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, an example of which is shown in FIG.1B. The Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor of FIG. 1B includes a lensletarray 132 that dissects the incoming wavefront 133 and projects focalspots 135 onto a sensor (e.g., a detector array) 134. Although theShack-Hartmann wavefront sensor provides some benefits in certaincontexts, as explained in detail in various places below, the system 100of FIG. 1A is not limited to the use of a Shack-Hartmann wavefrontsensor and, instead, other sensors, such as a shearing interferometer,may be used, without departing from the broad scope of various aspectsof the invention.

It should be noted that the term dynamic-range-limiting aperture (RLA)refers to an aperture for limiting the wavefront dynamic range of lightthat is incident upon the wavefront sensor. In most cases this may be anaperture with a prescribed shape that is located relative to an imaginglens in the optical system so that it limits the range of angles thatmay pass through the system. The RLA size and shape is adjusted so asnot to exceed the range that the wavefront sensor can detect withoutambiguity. Beneficially, the RLA has a rectangular shape (e.g., a squareshape) to match the shape of the pixel group assigned to a lenslet, forexample. However, the RLA may have a round shape, hexagonal or othershape as needed by the particular sensor. The RLA may be designed topass light to exceed certain strict limits of the dynamic range toprovide for an optimum combination of optical and algorithmic analysis.Such an approach may allow the actual dynamic range of the system to beincreased.

FIG. 1A also shows an exemplary device under test (DUT) 170. The DUT hasa non-planar, three-dimensional surface 175. In the example shown inFIG. 1A, the surface 175 is generally spherical in nature, and moreparticularly, may be a mold for manufacturing a contact lens,intraocular lens, aspheric lens or other optical element. It may furtherbe a telescope mirror, aspheric imaging lens, lens element, orphotolithography lens, or any other surface that has specularreflectivity. The system 100 is able to measure and map the surface 175to characterize any surface irregularities and aspherical aberrations asdescribed in more detail below.

FIGS. 2A-B help to explain the positional relationship between thetelescope lens 124, the reformatting lens 129, and the DUT 170. Theprojection system 110 is not shown in FIGS. 2A-B for simplicity ofillustration. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, for a concave DUT 170 lightpassing through the telescope lens 124 is imaged at an image planeposition designated “I3.” The reformatting lens 129 is located adistance Si3 from the position of the image plane I3. The reformattinglens 129 has a focal length “f3” and the surface 175 of the DUT 170 hasa base radius of curvature that is indicated as “R” in FIG. 2A.

In this case, given the base radius of curvature R of the surface 175 ofthe DUT 170 and the focal length f3 of the reformatting lens 129, onecan calculate the position Si3 to be:

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{1}{{Si}_{3}} = {\frac{1}{f_{3}} - \frac{1}{\left( {f_{3} + R} \right)}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

FIG. 2B illustrates the case of a convex DUT 170. In this case thelocation of the image plane I3 is adjusted so that it matches thevirtual image of the DUT 170 created by the reformatting lens 129 (L3).In this case the radius R is negative and the resulting image distanceSi3 is therefore also negative. By adjusting the position of bothreformatting lens 129 and the DUT 170 (i.e., by changing the position ofthe movable stage 107), the image or virtual image plane of reformattinglens 129 can still be matched to the object plane (labeled I3) oftelescope lens 124 (L1) and hence imaging can be maintained throughoutthe system from the surface of the DUT 170 onto the wavefront sensor130.

Using either the arrangement of FIG. 2A or FIG. 2B, highly curved DUTs170, either convex or concave in nature, can be tested. The choice ofreformatting lens 129 is determined by the radius of curvature of theDUT 170s to be measured. The field of view is determined by themagnification M2=−f1/f2 (where f1 is the focal length of lens L1 and f2is the focal length of lens L2), and by the size of the wavefront sensorinput aperture.

Since the device under test may have a wide range of local radii ofcurvature, it is possible that the light that is collected byreformatting lens 129, and transmitted through telescope lens 124 (L1 inFIGS. 2A-B) to the RLA 115 arrives at a significant angle. If this lightwere to be allowed to propagate through the rest of the system, it wouldresult in a wavefront that would exceed the dynamic range of thewavefront sensor 130. The dynamic-range-limiting aperture (RLA) 115clips any such rays, thereby insuring that the wavefront sensor 130never receives light that exceeds its measurement capabilities. However,this means that there may be portions (even significant portions) of theDUT 170 that cannot be measured, and hence no light would be returnedthrough the system to the wavefront sensor 130 for this condition.

FIG. 3 shows a DUT 170 that has a portion of the surface that wouldexceed the angular dynamic range of the wavefront sensor 130. A ray thatis incident on this portion of the wavefront sensor 130 is shown. Thisray originates from the injection system, is relayed onto the DUT 170,and the collected light is then collected by reformatting lens 129 anddirected back toward the wavefront sensor 130. However, because this rayhas a greater angle than the wavefront sensor 130 is capable ofdetecting, it arrives at the RLA 115 off axis. The size of the RLA 115is chosen so that only in-range rays may be admitted. Thus the ray shownin FIG. 3 is clipped, and does not pass through the RLA 115 to therebycause inaccurate measurements. The particular ray shown in FIG. 3 isfrom a region that is more highly curved than the rest of the DUT 170(from the inner portion, in this example). However, rays from the outerregion (in this example) are well matched to the optical system, andthus would transit the entire system and would therefore be detected bythe wavefront sensor 130. All such rays corresponding to the outerregion (in this example) would pass through the RLA 115 and thus bedetected. Thus, in this configuration, the wavefront sensor 130 wouldreceive light from a ring corresponding to the outer region of the DUT170. No light would be collected from the middle (except for one pointexactly on axis). All of the light collected in this ring could be usedto make an accurate measurement of the DUT 170 in this region.

This basic concept of using a dynamic-range-limiting aperture was usedto good effect in the '917 patent to assure that all rays that werecollected by (in this case) the ophthalmic wavefront sensor system formeasuring the eye were always in range. The instrument described in the'917 patent, however, was designed to acquire all of the information ina single frame, after adjustment of movable parts of the optical systemto optimize the dynamic range. The RLA was used, in that case, primarilyto ensure that only “in-range” light was incident on the sensor duringthe adjustment procedure, and thus facilitate rapid and accurateadjustment.

Now, this concept is extended further. By adjusting the position of themoving stage 105 in FIG. 1A, the spacing of telescope lenses 122 and 124may be changed. This changes the focus condition for light transmittedthrough the optics and also received by the wavefront sensor 130.Adjustment of the distance between the principle planes of these lensesto a distance equal to the sum of their effective focal lengths resultsin a planar wavefront transmitted through telescope lenses 122 and 124.Reformatting lens 129 reformats this to a spherical wavefront thatconverges (in the case of convex DUTs 170) or diverges (for concave DUTs170) to match the appropriate radius of curvature of the DUT 170. If thedistance between the telescope lenses 122 and 124 is set to a differentdistance (by adjusting movable stage 105), then the transmittedwavefront is no longer planar, but may be converging or diverging.Reformatting lens 129 then reformats this to either a slightly longer,or a slightly shorter (depending upon the type of DUT 170) radius ofcurvature wavefront that would be incident upon the DUT 170. If thisincident wavefront approximately matches the radius of curvature of theDUT 170, then the incident light will be reflected back such that it canbe collected by the optical system, pass through the RLA 115, and bemeasured by the wavefront sensor 130. If it does not match the radius ofcurvature of the DUT 170 well, then it will be clipped by the RLA 115.Thus to measure the entire surface of the DUT 170, the instrument musthave sufficient range of travel of the moving stage 105 to allowadjustment of the relative positions of telescope lenses 122 (L2) and124 (L1) over an appropriate range.

Accordingly, the telescope lenses 122 and 124, and where necessary thereformatting lens 129, function as a correction, or pre-correction,system for that compensates the light beam for one or more aberrationsin the DUT 170. Alternatively, instead of one or more lenses beingmounted on a movable stage, a variable focal length lens may beemployed. The focal length of such a lens may be controlled by theprocessor 152.

At each relative position of telescope lenses 122 and 124, there is aparticular radius of curvature that can be measured on the DUT 170.Since the DUT 170 may have a wide variation in radii, at any one time itwill not be possible to measure the entire DUT 170 (unlike the eye,where the '917 patent instrument was designed to have sufficient dynamicrange (after adjustment) to measure the entire eye in a singlemeasurement). But a series of measurements, each corresponding to adifferent position of lens 122 relative to lens 124, would result in ameasurement of different regions of the DUT 170, each corresponding to adifferent radius of curvature. Since the separation between telescopelenses 122 and 124, and the focal lengths of these lenses, is known fromthe instrument design, the relative defocus can be determined throughthe position of the stage 105. Thus the series of measurements, each ata known incident radius of curvature can be obtained.

Given such a sequence of measurements, it is also possible to takeadvantage of the known incident radius of curvature for each individualmeasurement, and thus produce the measurement over the entire DUT 170.The sequence of measurements can be pieced together, or “stitched”together, to form a single map of the three-dimensional surface of thedevice under test. This is different from what is disclosed in Neal etal. U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,974, “Apparatus and Method for Evaluating aTarget Larger Than a Measuring Aperture . . . .” in that, instead ofstitching together small portions of the measurement of the DUT bymultiple sub-aperture measurements (area stitching), the stitchingoccurs through stitching together portions of the measurement that wouldotherwise be out of range for the wavefront sensor.

The geometry proposed in FIGS. 1-3 for measuring highly curved opticalelements is not the only geometry where this technique is useful. Modemcontact lenses, intraocular lenses, and highly aspheric optical elementsalso pose difficulties in measurement due to rapidly changing curvatureover part of the optical element. These elements may be better measuredin transmission, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 8 illustrates an optical element as the device under test (DUT),such as a contact lens 842, which has portions that would normallyexceed the dynamic range of the sensor 830. FIG. 8 shows measurement ofa contact lens or other transmissive optical element that has low netpower. A collimated beam is passed through the DUT 842 and analyzed bythe sensor. Either the source 862 or the moving stage 805 can be movedto acquire data over the various zones as needed. In this case the lenshas little net optical power, or at least falls within the range ofoptical power that may be corrected by moving the movable stage 805.Light from a source 862 is collimated using lens 860 and transmittedthrough the DUT 842 which may be held in a test cell or mount 840. Thislight is collected by optical system 825, which contains parts mountedon a moving stage 805. The wavefront sensor 830, dynamic-range-limitingaperture 815 and one of the imaging lenses 816 are mounted on thismovable stage 805. Advantageously, the wavefront sensor 830 ispositioned so that the distance from the wavefront sensor 830 to thelens 816 is equal to the focal length of lens 816. Meanwhile, the DUT842 is positioned at a distance from lens 818 equal to the focal lengthof lens 818. During the measurement process the dynamic-range-limitingaperture 815 clips any light that would otherwise exceed the dynamicrange of the wavefront sensor 830. The moving stage 805 position isvaried and data is acquired and saved by the processor 852. This datamay be stitched together using the methods set out below, to reconstructa measurement of the entire DUT 842. Instead of moving the sensor 830,lens 816, and RLA 815, it may be advantageous to move the source 862relative to the DUT 842 instead. This will serve a similar purpose.

In a similar manner, an optical element that has significant opticalpower can be measured by omitting the collimating lens 860, and usingthe DUT itself to partially collimate the light from the source. Such acase is shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 9 shows measurement of an intraocular lens(IOL) or other transmissive optical element that has significantfocusing power. A collimated beam is passed through the DUT 942 andanalyzed by the sensor. Either the source 962 or the moving stage 905can be moved to acquire data over the various zones as needed. In thiscase the DUT 942 collimates the light from the source 962. This light isthen collected with imaging system 925 onto sensor 930. In this casethere are two different ways for the multiple measurements to bestitched together can be obtained. Either the position of the movablestage 905 may be varied, as described previously, or the position of thesource 962 may be varied using movable stage 908. Since the focal power(effective focal length) of the DUT 942 may not be known, it may benecessary to include an option for moving the movable stage 908 in anycase. Then the movable stage 905 may be omitted since it serves nounique function.

Now, embodiments of a process for stitching together individualmeasurements will be described. FIGS. 4A-D depicts a sequence ofmeasurements for a particular type of DUT 170 using the system of FIG.1A. In this case the DUT 170 is a mold for a bifocal contact lens. Themold has regions with widely different radii of curvature with extremelysharp transitions between regions. As can be seen in FIG. 4E, there aresix basic annular zones, with zones 1, 3 and 5 having one radius ofcurvature, zones 2 and 4 a different radius of curvature, and zone 6having yet a different radius. It is important to be able to measure thedifferent radii of curvature accurately, e.g. an absolute accuracy ofbetter than 0.005 mm for a DUT 170 with a 7 mm base curve. For the datarepresented in FIGS. 4A-D, the radii of curvature of the differentregions is sufficiently different that it would not be possible todesign a wavefront sensor 130 (e.g. a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor)with sufficient dynamic range that could also achieve the requiredaccuracy.

The following techniques are applied to measure the DUT 170.

First, the DUT 170 is positioned in the metrology instrument 100 at theappropriate image plane. This plane may be determined by either opticalor mechanical means.

To determine the appropriate position optically, the DUT 170 isinitially positioned with the surface approximately one focal lengthfrom reformatting lens 129. The telescope lenses 122 and 124 areseparated to be spaced apart by the sum of their focal lengths, so thatthey will provide a collimated (flat) transmitted wavefront when the DUT170 is positioned exactly at the image plane. Then, the position of theDUT 170 is adjusted (by means of movable stage 109) until the wavefrontas measured by the wavefront sensor 130 is flat, which means that theDUT 170 is located at the so-called “cat's eye” position. This is awell-known condition optically where the light is focused on the surfaceof the DUT 170 at a single point. It is not sensitive to alignment orposition of the DUT 170 other than the relative distance fromreformatting lens 129. This position is recorded using a micrometer,encoder or other position gauge on the relative position between the DUT170 and reformatting lens 129.

Next, the DUT 170 is moved (again, by movable stage 109) byapproximately the radius of curvature of the central region of the DUT170. The position of the DUT 170 is then finely adjusted to once againprovide a flat wavefront over at least some portion of the surface(usually the central region) as determined by the wavefront sensor 130.This is often called the “confocal position.” The difference between the“cat's eye” position, and the confocal position is the base radius ofcurvature of the DUT 170 (Rb).

If the DUT 170 is arranged so that it may be registered accurately (atleast to within the desired measurement accuracy), then the precedingsteps (moving to the “cat's eye” position and then the confocalposition) may not be necessary once the instrument is calibrated. Thecalibration and positioning accuracy are sufficient to achieve accuratemeasurement and the base radius may be determined only from the stageposition readout at the collimation position.

Next the spacing between the imaging lenses 125 is varied systematicallyso as to acquire a sequence of measurements. In the example thatproduced the chart of FIG. 4E, 40 separate measurements were acquired.However, hundreds or even thousands of measurements may be used toincrease the signal-to-noise ratio. Each measurement is taken with adifferent spacing between telescope lenses 122 and 124 and thus with adifferent reference defocus. The spacing is accurately recorded using aposition detection system (e.g. an encoder) on the mechanical stage thatis used for positioning. For a wavefront sensor 130 that measureswavefront slope (such as Shack-Hartmann, Moire deflectometry, shearinginterferometer), the position of the stage 105 can be used to modify theacquired wavefront data to include the appropriate defocus.

The surface shape, S(x, y), is determined partly by the defocusintroduced through the variable separation of telescope lenses 122 and124 and reformatting lens 129 and hence the stage position f(x,y), andpartly from the measured wavefront of the sensor w(x,y):

S(x,y)=f(x,y)+w(x,y)  (2)

The resulting slope at each point across the aperture is:

$\begin{matrix}{{{\theta^{x}\left( {x,y} \right)} = {\frac{\partial{f\left( {x,y} \right)}}{\partial x} + {\theta_{m}^{x}\left( {x,y} \right)}}}{{\theta \; {y\left( {x,y} \right)}} = {\frac{\partial\; {f\left( {x,y} \right)}}{\partial y} + {\theta_{m}^{y}\left( {x,y} \right)}}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

Where the defocus wavefront is given by f(x,y):

$\begin{matrix}{{f\left( {x,y} \right)} = \frac{\left( {x^{2} + y^{2}} \right)}{2\; R}} & (4)\end{matrix}$

and so

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{\partial f}{\partial x} = \frac{x}{R}} & (5)\end{matrix}$

and

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{\partial f}{\partial y} = \frac{y}{R}} & (6)\end{matrix}$

Each of these measurements may not have a complete characterization overthe surface, but the collection together should span the entire space.If the measurements are from a slope type wavefront sensor (as in theexample above) then the slope distributions must be reconstructed toretrieve the wavefront distribution.

FIGS. 4A-D illustrate a sequence of these measurements. FIGS. 4A, B, andC show three different individual measurements. Note that there is asignificant portion of each image where no data was acquired. However,these regions overlap in such a way that the entire image can beretrieved.

The images are stitched together using Eqns. 2-6 to include theappropriate defocus term. The stitching can be done through a number ofmethods, which may include spot tracking, averaging, or other means.

As an example, averaging can be applied to defocus correctedmeasurements. In the averaging method for stitching, one takes advantageof the fact that Eqns. 2-6 apply the correct defocus term to each of thewavefront sensor measurements so that each measurement represents acomplete, accurate measurement of the surface, even if only a portion ofthe surface has available data. Thus for each location (x,y) on thesurface, the surface height at a given position is determinedindependently by each measurement. Thus, an accurate measure of thesurface height can be determined simply by averaging each surface heightfrom each valid measurement. However, for strongly varying DUT 170s,there are regions where no valid data is available (due to the RLA 115).These points are not included in the average, so that for each location(x,y), a different number of points may be included in the average,depending upon the number of valid overlapping measurements. As thedefocus is varied, this has the effect of “filling in” the missingportions of the data so that the whole surface is included.

For a slope type wavefront sensor, the wavefront is determined byintegration from wavefront gradient measurements. This integrationinvolves an arbitrary constant of integration that cannot be specified.So, for unconnected regions it is impossible to determine the actualsurface position, and only relative surface height within a connectedregion can be obtained. However, the defocus correction of Eqns. 5 and 6applies to the slope. Therefore if, instead of averaging the wavefronts,the wavefront slopes are averaged, then it is possible to perform thewavefront reconstruction after the stitching process has completed. Thiswill lead to a large connected region and hence improved performance ofthe algorithms. Mathematically, for an AOI “k” and measurement “m,” theslope at a point θ_(k) ^(x)(x,y) can be constructed from a series ofmeasurements θ_(k,m) ^(x)(x,y) given a validity function V_(k,m)(x,y),similarly for θ_(k,m) ^(y)(x,y).

$\begin{matrix}{{\theta_{k}^{x}\left( {x,y} \right)} = \frac{\sum\limits_{m}{{V_{k,m}\left( {x,y} \right)}\; {\theta_{k,m}^{x}\left( {x,y} \right)}}}{\sum\limits_{m}V_{k,m}}} & (7)\end{matrix}$

The validity function describes where data is valid and may easily beobtained by evaluating the irradiance of the light at each measurementpoint. Among other methods, the validity function can be constructedfrom irradiance measurements I_(k,m)(x,y).

$\begin{matrix}{{V_{k,m}\left( {x,y} \right)} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}1 & {{I_{k,m}\left( {x,y} \right)} \geq t} \\0 & {{I_{k,m}\left( {x,y} \right)} < t}\end{matrix} \right.} & (8)\end{matrix}$

where t is a predetermined “irradiance threshold.”

In the embodiment where the wavefront sensor 130 consists of aShack-Hartmann wavefront sensor that comprises a lenslet array disposedin front of a detector array, there are a number additional ways toconstruct the validity function in an optimal fashion. The total lightthat is collected by each lens in the lenslet array is readilydetermined by adding up all the pixel values associated with thatlenslet. This can be used as an estimate of the irradiance for thisportion of the measurement I_(k)(x,y). Eqn. 8 can be used to constructthe validity function through the use of the RLA 115 to clip any lightthat would otherwise be out of range. This validity information may beobtained in other ways from different measurement instruments. However,it is usually easy to determine a region where valid data exists byanalyzing the images obtained by the respective sensor.

However, additional information may also be obtained from theShack-Hartmann image. Each focal spot covers a number of pixels. This isnecessary in order to get optimum accuracy from this type of sensor.Using a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor and sensing method, anarea-of-interest (AOI) comprising N pixels is assigned to each lenslet.Neal et al., “Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor precision and accuracy,”SPIE 4779, (2002), showed that that optimal signal to noise was obtainedwhen about 50 pixels were covered by each focal spot in the measurementprocess. This is about a 7×7 group of pixels, in general. The positionof the focal spot is determined through a 1^(st) moment algorithm(sometimes called a centroid algorithm):

$\begin{matrix}{{\overset{\_}{x} = \frac{\sum\limits_{i}{s_{i}x_{i}}}{\sum\limits_{i}s_{i}}},} & (9)\end{matrix}$

where the summation is performed over all N pixels in eacharea-of-interest (AOI) assigned to each lenslet (similarly for the yposition). With about N=50 illuminated pixels, the focal spot positioncan be determined to about 1/50^(th) of a pixel, which is the boundarywhere other systematic effects start to affect the accuracy. With thisdistribution of pixels, however, it is also possible to estimate thesize of the focal spot. This can be done through the 2^(nd) momentalgorithm:

$\begin{matrix}{\sigma_{x}^{2} = \frac{\sum\limits_{i}{s_{i}\left( {x_{i} - \overset{\_}{x}} \right)}^{2}}{\sum\limits_{i}s_{i}}} & (10)\end{matrix}$

FIGS. 5A-D illustrate several exemplary conditions of illuminated pixelsin a single AOI.

FIG. 5A shows a typical AOI with normal in-range light. The focal spotsize comes into play because it provides information about the changesin the lenslet focal spot. The lenslet focal spot can be modified byvarious effects in the optical system which it would be advantageous todetect.

FIG. 5B illustrates a slightly out-of range condition. Some light froman adjacent lenslet is “leaking” into the edge of the pixels under thelenslet of interest. This biases the data and reduces the accuracy. Inthis condition the 2^(nd) moment spot size changes dramatically (byfactors of about 4-10 or more) since the positional weighting (x²) givesa strong weight to a small amount of signal on either edge of the areaof interest. A very coarse threshold (i.e. 2-3 times the average σ(averaged over all k)) is sufficient to detect this condition and addthese AOIs to the validity function, i.e.

$\begin{matrix}{V_{k} = {V_{k}^{it} + \left\{ \begin{matrix}1 & {{{\sigma_{k} - \sigma_{k}^{REF}}} < t_{\sigma}} \\0 & {{{\sigma_{k} - \sigma_{k}^{REF}}} \geq t_{\sigma}}\end{matrix} \right.}} & (11)\end{matrix}$

where the reference second moments, Φ_(k) ^(REF), are recorded in acalibration step where the collected wavefront was ensured to becompletely in range. Usually this is the result of calibration with aperfect sphere or other ideal optical element.

FIG. 5C illustrates a diffracted focal spot. Since the operation of thesystem as disclosed above necessitates scanning the defocus position, itis evident that the focal spots will move though the AOIs, entering fromone edge and leaving from the other. This will perforce cause the focalspot to transit the RLA 115. When the focal spot is partly on the edgeof the RLA 115, this clipping will cause diffraction. This diffractionwill cause the focal spot to grow until it is completely clipped. UsingEquations 10 and 11, it is possible to identify these conditions andconstruct the appropriate validity function.

FIG. 5D illustrates a case where the DUT 170 has a complex geometry. Forthe complex DUT 170 described above, there are regions with a sharptransition in curvature. This means that there are cusps or sharpchanges in slope on the surface of the DUT 170. For those lenslets thatcover such a sharp transition, the light will be reflected in twodifferent directions simultaneously. This will result in greatlydistorted focal spots. These distorted focal spots will be bigger than anon-distorted focal spot, and hence can be readily detected with Eqns.10 and 11.

Focal Spot Tracking

For a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, the assignment of pixels tolenslets is required to assure that the wavefront can be determinedwithout ambiguity. Thus a unique mapping from a particular group ofpixels to a particular lenslet must be maintained. Several differenttechniques for determining this mapping have been used (e.g., T. Brunoet al. “Applying Hartmann wavefront sensing technology to precisionoptical testing of the Hubble Space Telescope correctors,” SPIE 1920,pp. 328-336 (1993)). In practice, the most common is to predeterminethis mapping from an initially flat wavefront that is incident upon thesensor. In this case the dynamic range of the sensor is given by thelocation where the edge of the focal spot is located at a position thatis on the boundary of the pixels assigned to that lenslet. For a sensordesigned without intervening optics between the lenslet array and thedetector array (e.g., following the methods of U.S. Pat. No. 6,130,419“Fixed mount wavefront sensor”), the size of the group of pixels is thesame size as the lenslet array. Thus the angular dynamic range is givenby

$\begin{matrix}{\theta_{\max} = \frac{{d/2} - {f\; {\lambda/d}}}{f}} & (12)\end{matrix}$

In practice, the use of thresholds means that this maximum angulardynamic range estimate is usually slightly conservative, that is, thethreshold focal spot is actually slightly smaller than fλ/d in radius,so the second term in Eqn. 12 is slightly less, resulting in a slightlylarger dynamic range. For a 12% threshold, the threshold spot size isapproximately 3λ/4d.

However, it should be noted that the group of pixels assigned to thefocal spot is purely an arbitrary convention. Thus, using a priori,internal, or other information to increase the dynamic range of thesensor can adjust this assignment.

Further, the group of pixels that are assigned to a particular lensletcan be determined through an algorithm that assigns the pixel group tothe lenslet array, and then determines the centroid (or spot location)from the assigned group of pixels. To this end, the following algorithmswhich may be used to assign the pixel groups, or Areas of Interest(AOIs), to the lenslets.

One Frame Tracking

If the focal spots are arranged so that there is sufficient local tiltin the wavefront (and either no RLA is employed, or the size of the RLAis large) such that two partial focal spots are located on the edges ofthe pixel AOI, then there will be a significant error in estimating thespot location using Eqn. 9. However, if the local tilt is less thand/(2f), that is, if the centroid as determined by Eqn. 9 is in thecorrect half of the AOI, then an additional calculation step will resultin increased dynamic range. This calculation consists of moving thepixel group (AOI) to be centered on the centroid position determined bythe first step, and then calculating again the centroid using Eqn. 9,but with the new group of pixels. Unless the focal spots on each edgeare precisely balanced, this will result in almost a 50% increase in thedynamic range. To assure that the focal spots are in the rightarrangement initially, the RLA size can be adjusted to clip light thathas an incident angle exceeding d/(2f). As an example consider a lensletwith 2 mm focal length, and 0.072 mm diameter. In this case the nominaldynamic range (for 635 nm light) is 9.2 mr, whereas one frame trackingwould allow 18 mr of angular dynamic range, almost a factor of 2improvement.

Iterative Wavefront Fitting

For some types of optical system the wavefront may have some regionwhere it is bounded and in range in some locations, but exceeds thenominal dynamic range of the system according to the definition given inEqn. 12. If the wavefront is smoothly varying, then it is possible toextrapolate the location of AOIs outside the region of in-range data. Itis typical that the in-range portion of the wavefront is in the centerof the sensor area, although it may be in a different location, as longas this location can be identified using a priori, 2^(nd) moment, orother methods.

This method is outlined in FIG. 6. Starting with the region of in-rangedata, a wavefront surface is fit to the data over only the region thatis confirmed to be in-range. This can be checked using the 2^(nd) momentalgorithm to verify that only a single focal spot is contained in eachAOI in a particular region. The wavefront fitting is performed usingZernike polynomials, Taylor monomials, or other polynomial or continuousfunctions as appropriate to the data under test. A priori informationcan be used to limit the region of connected data if it is available.The fitted wavefront can then be used to project the location of thecenter of an extrapolated set of AOIs by computing the slope at centerof each lenslet, and projecting the location of the centroid associatedwith the lenslet by assumption that the wavefront is continuous andvaries smoothly over at least a small region. The AOI positions, thatis, the particular pixels assigned to a lenslet, are changed to reflectthis expected focal spot location, and then Eqn. 9 is used to compute anew centroid. The 2^(nd) moment algorithm (Eqn. 10) can be compared to athreshold to determine if the algorithm is successful in calculatingin-range focal spots. The resulting centroid pattern is then used tocompute a new set of wavefront slopes, which are then used in thecomputation of a new wavefront polynomial fit. The process can berepeated until either all of the data has been analyzed, or regions areidentified where the data is so rapidly varying that no successfulwavefront can be computed.

Calibration Steps

The system 100 of FIG. 1A can be calibrated internally through the useof a few known parameters. Since the optics are mounted on movablestages with precise motion control, the position of various groups ofoptics may be varied systematically while recording the outputs of thewavefront sensor. The relative position of various groups of optics canbe precisely determined through the use of common linear travel stageswith stepper (or servo) motor drives and position encoders. In practiceit is easy to obtain accurate positioning on the order of 1 micrometer.Variation of the optics position, in various groupings, allows thedetermination of most of the optical parameters of the system.

Parameters that need to be determined include, but may not be limitedto, the focal lengths of the various lenses f₁, f₂, and f₃, the offsetpositions of the various stages (that is the absolute position of thecenter of travel of each movable stage), the system magnification, andthe conversion between stage position and power of equivalent defocus indiopters when the stage positions are varied.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a determination of a cal factor, C₁,for the stage 105. FIG. 7 plots measured refractive power (wavefrontcurvature) as a function of stage 1 position (stage 105). This curve islinear, with a slope 0.3823 diopter/mm. The stage cal factor of 2.6155mm/diopter allows the stage position to be used to correct the opticalwavefront by a known systematic curvature. For any stage position Z₁,the wavefront curvature 1/R₁ can be determined by just multiplying thestage position by the cal factor: 1/R₁=Z₁C₁. So, C₁ is used to determinethe correct wavefront curvature to add to the measured wavefront duringthe focal stitching process as described by Eqn. 4.

Other factors may determined by systematic variation of the other stagesas appropriate.

One of the key parameters that needs to be determined for properanalysis and calibration of the system is the focal length of thevarious lenses. While there are a number of different techniques fordetermining the focal length of a lens, many of these techniques requirea subjective evaluation. Other techniques rely on mechanicalmeasurements of the lens surface, which make it difficult to account forindex of refraction variations or aberrations. Even image-basedtechniques rely on determination of best focus to determine the focalproperties of the lens. For lenses with variations this leads toinaccuracies in determining the focal length.

The wavefront sensor described previously can measure the radius ofcurvature of an incident wave. This can be used to determine the focalproperties of a lens in the following manner, as explained with respectto FIG. 11. FIG. 11 illustrates the geometry for measuring lens focallengths and other properties of lenses using a wavefront sensor. In FIG.11, a lens to be tested 1140 is arranged between a point source 1110 anda wavefront sensor 1130. The lens 1140 collects the light from thesource 1110 and directs it toward the sensor 1130. The sensor 1130measures the wavefront of the light incident upon it, including thewavefront curvature. The focal length is a paraxial property of the lens1140. That is, the focal length is the distance that the lens 1140 willfocus the near on-axis (paraxial) rays from a collimated source. Thefocal length is related to the object and image positions by thethin-lens formula:

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{1}{f} = {\frac{1}{S_{o}} + \frac{1}{S_{i}}}} & (13)\end{matrix}$

With the wavefront sensor 1130 arranged as shown in FIG. 11, theparameters S_(o) and S_(i) can be replaced with the appropriatequantities from the optical geometry:

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{1}{f} = {\frac{1}{f + Z - Z_{0}} + \frac{1}{L + R}}} & (14)\end{matrix}$

which can be rewritten in terms of the measured vergence at thewavefront sensor P=1/R:

$\begin{matrix}{P = {\frac{1}{R} = {\frac{Z - Z_{0}}{f^{2} + {\left( {f - L} \right)\left( {Z - Z_{0}} \right)}}.}}} & (15)\end{matrix}$

where (Z−Z₀) is the relative position of the source (Z) with respect toits position at collimation (Z₀),f is the lens focal length of lens1140, and L is the distance between the lens 1140 and wavefront sensor1130. This formula expresses the relationship between the position of apoint source 1110 and the measured power (1/R) of the wavefront incidenton the wavefront sensor 1130. If the source 1110 is located on a movingstage that allows for precise variation of its position in a knownfashion, e.g. through the use of a motorized stage with encoder positionfeedback (such as in the system 100 of FIG. 1A), then a data set ofmeasured power P as a function of source positions can be obtained. Thisdata can be analyzed to determine the parameters f, L, and Z₀ thatprovide the best fit to Eqn. 15. A least squares, bisection, iterativeor other numerical method can be employed.

FIG. 12 illustrates measurement of the focal power (P=1/R) as a functionof stage position over a range of positions. Analysis of this curveallows the determination of the lens focal length and other properties.FIG. 12 presents an example, which shows the measured power (indiopters) as a function of stage position over a +/−0.12 m range.Analysis of this data yields f=301.52 mm, L=405.65 mm, and Z₀=0.21 mm.

The analysis of paired object/image location data is well known in theprior art. For example, Pernick et al., “Least-squares technique fordetermining principal plane location and focal length,” Appl. Optics26(15), pp. 2938-2939 (1 Aug. 1987) showed that lens focal lengths couldbe determined through measurements of paired data and a least squaresfitting routine.

However, in the prior art the image position is determined by examiningthe image and finding the position that results in best focus. This isdifficult for an aberrated lens, or for one with a long focal length. Inthe case of an aberrated lens there is no single clear position for bestfocus, and for a long focal length lens there is a long region where theimage appears to have similar quality because of the large depth offocus for such a lens. In contrast to the prior art, in this method awavefront sensor (Shack-Hartmann, Moire deflectometry, holographicgrating, shearing interferometer, etc.) is employed. This wavefrontsensor can be used to describe the incident wavefront through apolynomial decomposition, such as Taylor polynomials, Zernikepolynomials or other orthogonal or non-orthogonal basis. The advantageof using an orthogonal basis (such as Zernike polynomials) is that theparaxial effects (such as the paraxial focal power) can be separatedfrom other phenomenon or aberrations. Thus by analyzing only the secondorder polynomial terms, one can analyze the paraxial focal power termseparately from the higher order terms, such as spherical aberrations.This effectively allows the analysis of only the paraxial properties,even in the presence of other aberrations. Also, the wavefrontdetermination can be quite accurate, even for extremely large radius ofcurvature wavefronts. For example, Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors havebeen shown to be capable of accurately measuring wavefronts having radiiof curvature >1000 m, over a 5 mm aperture. This accuracy allows themeasurement of even long focal length lenses that would be difficultusing the past.

Although the specific example discussed above pertains to a case wherethe absolute position of the device under test (e.g., lens) remainsconstant while the light source is moved by the movable stage to obtainN data samples for the least-squares-mean algorithm, it is also possibleto move the device under test (e.g., lens) by a movable stage while thelight source remains fixed, to obtain the N data samples.

One common element that is needed for measuring parts using thesemethods is a point source that is used to provide an accurate sphericalwave. Such a point source may be constructed using a variety ofdifferent methods. In the prior art a number of methods have been usedfor such a purpose. These include focusing light through a smallpinhole, the use of a small optical fiber, or LED. However, each ofthese methods has serious disadvantages that may preclude its use insome situations. Focusing light through a pinhole requires accurate anddifficult alignment. The numerical aperture from an optical fiber islimited to relatively low values (<0.11), and an LED may have internalstructure that complicate the optical wavefront so that it does notpresent a perfect spherical wave.

FIG. 10A illustrates a device for producing a nearly spherical wavefrontthat overcomes these advantages. This device uses a standard LED, whichis very low cost and yet may provide a significant amount of lightpower. The LED consists of emitter 1010, with contact wire 1030, thatare protected inside an epoxy well structure 1020. If only the LED isused as a source, then the contact wire and well structure causethree-dimensional patterns of the emitted light waveform that complicateits use as a spherical wave source. By including the additional elementsof a diffuser 1040 and pinhole structure 1050 with aperture 1060 thesedisadvantages may be overcome. The diffuser 1040 may be made of a thinpiece of Teflon or other appropriate material.

Beneficially, when a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is employed, theaperture 1060 does not need to be extremely small, since it will end upbeing imaged onto the detector array. The size of the effective focalspot may be arranged to grow by only a small amount. However, it may beadvantageous to arrange a slightly larger spot in any case, sincecovering more pixels will lead to better measurement accuracy (as shownfor example by D. R. Neal et al., “Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensorprecision and accuracy,” SPIE 4779, 2002).

The disadvantage to this configuration is that the efficiency is verylow. The aperture 1060 passes only a small amount of light, and this iffurther reduced by the diffuser 1040.

The light efficiency may be improved by using the configuration shown inFIG. 10B. In this case, a tapered fiber 1070 (or alternatively a taperedfiber bundle) is introduced between the LED and the diffuser/pinholeelements 1040/1060. The tapered fiber 1070 collects the light from theLED, concentrates it, and provides it to the diffuser 1060 and pinhole1070.

While preferred embodiments are disclosed herein, many variations arepossible which remain within the concept and scope of the invention.Such variations would become clear to one of ordinary skill in the artafter inspection of the specification, drawings and claims herein. Theinvention therefore is not to be restricted except within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

1. A system, comprising: a projecting optical system adapted to projectlight onto an object; a pre-correction system adapted to compensate alight beam to be projected onto the object for at least one aberrationin the object, the pre-correction system being positioned in between theprojecting optical system and the object; an imaging system adapted tocollect light scattered by the object a wavefront sensor adapted toreceive the light collected by the imaging system and to sense awavefront of the received light; means for adjusting the compensationapplied to the light beam by the pre-correction system to thereby changethe wavefront of the light received by the wavefront sensor; and meansfor stitching together the sensed wavefronts of the light received bythe wavefront sensor for each compensation to map a surface of theobject.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the wavefront sensor is aShack-Hartmann wavefront sensor.
 3. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising a dynamic-range-limiting aperture adapted to insure that thewavefront sensor only sees light within a dynamic range of the system.4. The system of claim 1, wherein the pre-correction system comprises atelescope having two lenses, at least one of said lenses being movable.5. The system of claim 4, further comprising a dynamic-range-limitingaperture disposed in an optical path between the two lenses and beingadapted to insure that the wavefront sensor only sees light within adynamic range of the system.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the meansfor stitching further comprises a processor, said processor furtherbeing adapted to move said movable lens to a plurality of positions andto stitch together the sensed wavefronts of the light received by thewavefront sensor at each of the positions.
 7. A method, comprising: (a)projecting a light beam onto an object; (b) compensating the light beamto be projected onto the object for at least one aberration in theobject; (c) collecting light scattered by the object and providing thecollected light to a wavefront sensor; (d) sensing at the wavefrontsensor a wavefront of the collected light scattered by the object; (e)changing a compensation applied to the light beam; (f) repeating steps(b) through (e) to obtain N sensed wavefronts; and (g) stitchingtogether the N sensed wavefronts to map the object.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, further comprising passing the light scattered from the objectthrough a dynamic-range-limiting aperture adapted to insure that thewavefront sensor only sees light within a dynamic range of the wavefrontsensor.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein compensating the light beamcomprises passing the light beam through a telescope having two lenses,at least one of said lenses being movable.
 10. The method of claim 9,further comprising passing the light scattered from the object through adynamic-range-limiting aperture disposed in an optical path between thetwo lenses adapted to insure that the wavefront sensor only sees lightwithin a dynamic range of the wavefront sensor.
 11. A method,comprising: projecting a light beam onto an object; compensating thelight beam to be projected onto the object for aberrations in theobject; passing light scattered by the object through adynamic-range-limiting aperture; collecting light passed through thedynamic-range-limiting aperture and providing the collected light to awavefront sensor; and sensing a wavefront of the collected light. 12.The method of claim 11, wherein the wavefront of the collected light issensed with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor having a first pluralityof lenslets for receiving and focusing the wavefront into focal spots,and a second plurality of pixels adapted to receive the focal spots, andwherein the dynamic-range-limiting aperture has a same shape as a shapeof one of the lenslets.
 13. The method of claim 11, where thedynamic-range-limiting aperture has a rectangular shape.
 14. A system,comprising: a projecting optical system adapted to project light onto anobject; a pre-correction system adapted to compensate a light beam to beprojected onto the object for at least one aberration in the object, thepre-correction system being positioned in between the projecting opticalsystem and the object; an imaging system adapted to collect lightscattered by the object; a wavefront sensor adapted to receive the lightcollected by the imaging system and to sense a wavefront of the receivedlight; and a dynamic-range-limiting aperture adapted to insure that thewavefront sensor only sees light within a dynamic range of the system,wherein the pre-correction system is also located in an optical pathfrom the object to the wavefront sensor.
 15. The system of claim 14,wherein the pre-correction system comprises a telescope having twolenses, at least one of said lenses being movable.